One of the many storylines running through UFC 130 is that of UFC middleweight Brian Stann.Stann was once a war hero, having served in Iraq where he earned a Silver Star—the nation’s third highest military honor—for his efforts. In addition…
One of the many storylines running through UFC 130 is that of UFC middleweight Brian Stann.
Stann was once a war hero, having served in Iraq where he earned a Silver Star—the nation’s third highest military honor—for his efforts. In addition to this, Stann was the light heavyweight champion in the lesser known World Extreme Cagefighting organization (WEC).
It was for these reasons that Stann—with his square jaw and clean-cut All-American look—was and still is given a considerable amount of hype. But, hype aside, is Brian Stann ready for the elite of the middleweight division?
If Stann is victorious over his UFC 130 opponent Jorge Santiago, whether he is ready or not, the elite will come.
The reality of the situation is that middleweight has been and still is one of the weakest divisions in the UFC. There are few true contenders in general and even fewer that can threaten current champion Anderson Silva.
So, in one sense, Brian Stann is ready for the middleweight elite because there are so few truly elite fighters in the middleweight division. In addition, some might think he has already defeated a member of the middleweight elite in Chris Leben.
But, to look at the other side of the question, is Stann ready for the middleweight elite meaning Anderson Silva and perhaps Vitor Belfort?
Not likely. In truth, Stann is a fairly one dimensional fighter. He has good stand-up skills, but he seems to use mainly his hands; limited wrestling, and limited submissions—although he is improving in this area and even has a triangle choke submission to his credit.
Despite these deficiencies, Stann, if victorious tonight, will likely be proclaimed as the next middleweight contender and perhaps even put into a number one contender fight.
So, to reiterate the answer: Stann has no choice but to be “ready” for the middleweight elite because the talent pool at middleweight is so thin that he may himself be part of that elite already!
About two and a half years ago, Frank Mir was walking around with the UFC interim heavyweight championship belt around his waist. Things have certainly changed as we head into the UFC 130. Now fighting in the semi-main event against Roy Nelson, Mir is…
About two and a half years ago, Frank Mir was walking around with the UFC interim heavyweight championship belt around his waist. Things have certainly changed as we head into the UFC 130.
Now fighting in the semi-main event against Roy Nelson, Mir is no longer the champion. In fact, he may not even be a contender. Some would even venture to say that he’s hardly even a relevant heavyweight in 2011.
However, I’m not one of those people. I believe that at 32 years old, Frank Mir still has a lot left to give to the sport and that he can still be a contender given the right set of circumstances. But it all starts this Saturday night when he fights the big-bellied, mulleted former IFL heavyweight champion, Roy Nelson.
A quick look at Mir’s career would tell you that, like many fighters, he has had his ups and downs.
Mir ran up a 7-1 MMA record that included an impressive and painful-looking submission over Tank Abbott at UFC 41 prior to his first title shot against Tim Sylvia at UFC 48. It was that fight against Sylvia that really put Mir on the heavyweight map for good.
An underdog against the monstrous champion at the time, Mir also conceded well over 30 pounds to the “Maine-iac.” But it didn’t matter as Mir not only won the fight and became the new champion, but also broke Sylvia’s arm in the process in one of the most memorable and horrific-looking Octagon submissions of all-time.
The new champion was flying high and looked to be on a path to long-term greatness when a horrible motorcycle accident caused him to be sidelined for an extended period of time and subsequently stripped of his title.
Mir eventually returned, but looked awful in three straight fights against Marcio Cruz, Dan Christison and Brandon Vera. It looked as if an outside injury had caused the end of yet another mixed martial arts career.
A re-commitment to the sport helped Mir spring back with a victory over Antoni Hardonk at UFC 74 before he surprised nearly everyone with his submission over the debuting Brock Lesnar at UFC 81 in February 2008. Later that year, Mir would be crowned the UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion when he became the first man to ever stop the legendary Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 92.
Unfortunately, his title run would be short-lived once again as he was dominated by Brock Lesnar in their rematch at UFC 100.
Since that night, Mir has not looked like the same fighter that we saw have an impressive three-fight win streak in 2007-2008. Yes, he defeated an overrated Cheick Kongo and even knocked out Mirko Cro Cop, but his punishing loss to Shane Carwin may be what many fans will remember most about Mir’s last three fights.
Brendan Schaub recently proved that, at this point, any relevant heavyweight should be able to defeat Mirko Cro Cop, so it’s hard to give Mir too much credit for his uncharacteristically boring defeat of the former Pride superstar.
It’s time for Mir to get back in the cage against a top 10 opponent, and Roy Nelson is just that.
The UFC 130 semi main event will be a huge fight for both of these men as Nelson looks to climb into the UFC’s elite for the first time while Mir attempts to get back there. Neither fighter is going to go out without a fight and this is expected by most to be the kind of heavyweight slugfest that fans dream about.
With the looming potential of an “invasion” of the Strikeforce heavyweight division, the time for Frank Mir to make a statement is right now. He needs this win over Roy Nelson to prove that not only is he relevant, but he is still a top contender for Cain Velasquez’s UFC heavyweight championship going forward.
The UFC 130 fight card is one that won’t bring anywhere near as much attention as UFC 129 did, but there is still a good amount of drama to be had and jockeying for rankings to be done.The scheduled main event of Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard wo…
The UFC 130 fight card is one that won’t bring anywhere near as much attention as UFC 129 did, but there is still a good amount of drama to be had and jockeying for rankings to be done.
The scheduled main event of Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard would have certainly helped the buyrate for this pay-per-view, though the new main event of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Matt Hamill may end up actually being a more important fight for the long-term future of one fighter.
Of course, I’m talking about Rampage.
Once considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest 205-pound fighter on the face of the planet, Jackson has fallen back quite a bit since defeating Keith Jardine in the main event at UFC 96.
It was after that event when Jackson signed on to coach The Ultimate Fighter against “Suga” Rashad Evans. The fight was built up for months and despite the two fighters having no real prior “heat,” it ended up being one of the most anticipated fights in UFC history—and it wasn’t even for a title.
Jackson was thoroughly dominated by Evans’ takedowns and looked to be on his way to losing the fight, but fought back in the third round. Jackson clipped Evans and nearly finished him, but the fight eventually went to a decision which unanimously went in favor of Rashad.
The loss seemed to be mentally tough on Jackson, who took six months before his next fight against another former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Lyoto Machida, last November. But a second disappointing performance in a row lead fans to question whether or not Jackson still “has it.”
What’s interesting is that Jackson actually won the fight against Machida.
A win over a fighter who only had one previous loss on his career record would normally be considered a high point in many MMA fighters’ careers, but you could literally see the disappointment on Jackson’s face even as the scores were being announced. He even went so far as to say that he thought that the judges made the wrong decision in giving him the victory and that he would love to give Machida a rematch.
How weird is that?
Now with this fight against Matt Hamill, Jackson may be at a crossroads in his career. Does he put on a performance that reminds us of the Rampage of old; or does he drop further into the downward spiral that has become his recent career?
UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones recently mentioned that he believes his next title defense will actually be against Lyoto Machida or Rampage Jackson. Of course, that’s assuming a win over Matt Hamill. Without that, the UFC obviously couldn’t justify giving Jackson a title shot…And given Hamill’s awful performance against Jones in their fight, they can’t give a title shot to him, either.
Saturday could very well be the most important night of Quinton Jackson’s mixed martial arts career. He’s back in the spotlight, a title shot may be on the line and his entire future in the sport may just up for debate if he loses.
At UFC 130, Matt “The Hammer” Hamill will headline a PPV for the first time in his career against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Despite being born deaf, Hamill has become a star in of the world’s most difficult and dangerous sports, MMA….
Despite being born deaf, Hamill has become a star in of the world’s most difficult and dangerous sports, MMA.
Hamill is riding a five-fight winning streak that dates back to 2008.
Despite this, the odds are against Hamill. Although he has not had a KO victory since 2008, Jackson is still a dangerous striker and considered one of the top five light heavyweights in the world.
This is a fight Hamill had to take in order to prove he wants to make a serious title run.
But Hamill will need to do more than just win this fight to be seriously considered a top contender.
While he has wins over impressive fighters, Hamill’s 11-2 record may not be as impressive as it seems.
For starters, he was completely dominated by current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones in their fight. Hamill was well on his way to being TKO’d before the referee disqualified Jones.
Hamill’s next fight was a close battle with Keith Jardine. Jardine was deducted a point in the fight leading the judges’ scorecard to give the fight to Hamill by majority decision.
Although Hamill dominated Tito Ortiz in his most recent fight, Ortiz is far removed from the fighter he was when he was light heavyweight champion.
Hamill is a good fighter who has overcome a lot. But he’ll have to win out against top competition if he wants a title push.
That competition will not be easy to get through. The light heavyweight division features the likes of former champions Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida, Forrest Griffin, and Shogun Rua fighting for position. Also in the division is up-and-comer Phil Davis, who is a perfect 9-0.
MMA is a sport where anything can go. And with the way things have gone in the UFC lately, a top contender could be moved out of position due to injury.
In any case, Hamill will have some work to do if he wants to be considered a legit title contender. Beating Rampage would be a good start.
What do the Bleachers think? Is Matt Hamill on his way to being a title contender with a win?
With the way many MMA pundits and keyboard warriors talk about Frank Mir, it’s difficult to realize that the Las Vegas native was once champion of the UFC heavyweight division!The bone that Mir’s critics have to pick with him is this: They feel that Mi…
With the way many MMA pundits and keyboard warriors talk about Frank Mir, it’s difficult to realize that the Las Vegas native was once champion of the UFC heavyweight division!
The bone that Mir’s critics have to pick with him is this: They feel that Mir is one of the most overrated heavyweights in UFC history and that his record is proof, the heavyweight title in 2004 and interim heavyweight title in 2008 notwithstanding.
This attitude towards Mir is why his fight against Roy “Big Country” Nelson is so critical; Mir’s legacy may well be at stake!
Mir has had a long and arduous career. He began his days as an MMA fighter with promise, going 7-1 in his first eight fights and capturing UFC gold on his ninth outing in the Octagon against Tim Sylvia—which remains one of most famous fights in MMA for Mir’s brutal snapping of Sylvia’s forearm.
Right when Mir was on top of the world, tragedy struck in the form of a motorcycle accident. Mir was sidelined for almost two years and vacated his title as a result.
When Mir finally returned in 2006, it was far from triumphant. He looked very flabby—akin almost to Tim Sylvia—and his skilled had dulled. He went 1-2 in the year of his return.
Mir put himself back on the map with a stunning submission victory over Brock Lesnar in 2008. It was this victory that renewed fan interest in Frank Mir and revitalized his status as a contender in the heavyweight division.
Mir went on to win his interim belt from Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira and was the first man ever to finish him (although it has been said that Nogueira was sick during the fight). This was perhaps the high point for Mir’s career; Mir went only 2-2 after this fight, losing to Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin and beating Cheick Kongo and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipović.
So it is that Mir’s career is at a crucial junction. If he wins, he gets the next crack at the title after the winner of Junior Dos Santos vs. Shane Carwin, but should he lose, he falls back into the realm of the gatekeepers.
So what exactly would a loss to Nelson mean for Mir in the long run, meaning his legacy?
It would solidify the arguments of the Mir critics that Mir was always overrated and made a name for himself by beating a clumsy oaf in Tim Sylvia, a green Brock Lesnar and a sick Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira.
If Frank Mir loses, he will, according to his critics, be a bum that got lucky a few times. They will argue that Mir’s best wins were over fighters who weren’t skilled, were green, or were washed up.
Frank Mir, for his own sake, must not falter on Saturday night. For if he does, the critics and the keyboard warriors will rob him of a legacy.
Matt Hamill’s road to UFC 130 is inspirational, considering the fact that he is the only deaf pro fighter in MMA, and his uncle’s motivation to not let the disability come before anything else, including being the best he can be in whatever he chose to…
Matt Hamill’s road to UFC 130 is inspirational, considering the fact that he is the only deaf pro fighter in MMA, and his uncle’s motivation to not let the disability come before anything else, including being the best he can be in whatever he chose to do.
That motivation has led him to the new main event of UFC 130, pitting him against the PRIDE legend, former UFC light heavyweight champion and MMA icon Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in a bout that became tomorrow night’s main event when injuries prevented the Frankie Edgar-Gray Maynard rematch from happening.
Hamill has said various things about Rampage during the build up to the fight, among which were the most notable items were that he was going to break Rampage’s will and that Rampage IS the same guy he’s always been. In other words, Hamill feels that Rampage has not evolved as a fighter throughout his career, and if he want to move up in the ranks, Hamill needs to expose that.
He needs to showcase his diverse striking, he needs to avoid that right hook, he needs to work outside the range of Rampage and not stand and trade inside the pocket until he knows he has Rampage in a position where all Rampage can do is eat his shots and respond to Joe Rogan by saying, “Hamill whooped my A–!”
As far as wrestling, he’ll need to make sure he’s prepared for the takedowns and slams of Rampage, and we know Rampage nearly pulled out the slam when Lyoto Machida had Rampage in an attempted Triangle Choke at UFC 123 just as well as we know Hamill brutalized Keith Jardine at around this time last year.
Defensive wrestling to set up offensive wrestling—that’s how Hamill needs to work with the Wrestling issue that Rampage could present, and he probably knows well that he might have to use his stand-up just to set up takedowns in this bout.
Again, though, he’s said that Rampage is the same Rampage he was when Rampage fought Jardine, he’s the same Rampage that ended Chuck Liddell’s last UFC light heavyweight title run and he’s the same guy that Wanderlei Silva defeated twice in PRIDE.
Hamill needs to show the world that Rampage has not changed at all tomorrow night if he really wants to prove himself as a legitimate threat at 205.
One of the many storylines running through UFC 130 is that of UFC middleweight Brian Stann.